Sharm El-SheikhSharm el Sheikh on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula is the top spot for tourists to the region and a hub for Red Sea scuba safaris. Centred on Naama Bay, where most of the holiday hotels, dive centres, shopping, restaurants and nightlife is located, Sharm boasts 37 miles (60 kms) of sandy beachesmore across a series of blissful bays.

TOP TIPS - Eating out

If you want English food, The Tavern Bar is by far the best and all your favourites. - dave nelson

Piccasso bar is owned by an English lady, she cooks great Sunday lunches and quiche. Well worth a visit. - liz

Check out Little Buddha in Na'ama Bay for great sushi! All over the town though the seafood is very good if its fresh. - Macie

haggle for everything and pay no more that 30 egyptian for a taxi, if you haggle really well you can get it for 20 from the cleopatra - tanya

TOP TIPS - Getting There

Thomson. - dave nelson

TOP TIPS - Miscellaneous

Mosquito's were vicious. Make sure you take a really good repellent. Our hotel sprayed our room for us a few times and the little buggers wouldn't die!! - J Gay

The Hilton Waterfalls Hotel is excellent. - henry

There are better places to go to now! Avoid it. - John

TOP TIPS - Nightlife

Pacha is definitely the mega club of the resort and the whole open air dancing experience is pretty great. - Macie

TOP TIPS - Shopping

Don't buy snorkelling or dive gear in Sharm or anywhere in Egypt for that matter. The quality is very uneven and prices quite high. Bring your own equipment where possible. Oxygen bottles are ok though. - Macie

TOP TIPS - Things to do

Plan before you go what you are going to do. - Samantha-Jayne Hill

If you stay at the Hilton in Naama Bay you MUST go on the Tiran Island trip with the Sun N Fun excusion people who are on the beach. Their boat is the nicest one we saw (a beautiful wooden yatch type) and they don't fill it to the rafters. You will have your own lounger and its lovely. They also do lovely food & provide FOC soft drinks. We paid about £35 for 2 adults and one child for the day including lunch and three escorted snorkelling stops. Excellent day & value for money. - J Gay

Try to take some interest in what drives the Egyptians who work in Sharm el-Sheikh. They will welcome you not only to their country but also to their hearts. Beautiful people if you care for them they will care for you and make this small piece of paradise even better. - e somers

Sharm El Sheikh - Not bad except Russians!! - Sri K. Date of travel: Dec 2010I am in the Renaissance Resort Hotel. Probably the best hotel setup ive ever seen and ive seen plenty. Private beach. Private reef. Nice. But once you leave the resort and venture into the towns, RUSSIANS !!! what is going on??? If any russian's read this, please just acknowledge it and behave better!!! Just because there are a lot of your countrymen around, does not give you the right to behave like obnoxious idiots. I just had one Russian 5 year old child punch me in the crotch and the mom was like "what did she do?".

Great apart from those Russians - daveski. Date of travel: Mar 2010Had a great holiday in Sharm, stayed at the Savita Hotel,it was good apart from the Russians, they are such an ignorant bunch of yobs, they think they are the only people there, they push there way in, are totally rude, have no manners and seem to be totally pissed all day on vodka. These are the worst race of people I have ever encountered and I hope I never have to meet another Russian. Savita is not on the list so I will put in a randon hotel.

I loved Baron Resort in Sharm el Sheik - Anne Warriner. Date of travel: Jan 2009I loved Baron Resort in Sharm el Sheik. Did not like the bustle of Naam Bay but good for young people because there are so many bars , shops and even a casino. Lots of hastle from people trying to sell to you.

Sharm el-sheikh - Chris. Date of travel: Jul 2008Sharm el-Sheikh has lovely beaches, the sea was amazing with all the fish you will actually be swimming with nemo. Plenty of nightlife pasha, camel bar and clubs and bars lots of places to eat: TGI Fridays, Hard Rock, McDonald's and lots of lovely restaurants. Lots of shops, lovely handbag shops but always barter with the price.

Sharm El-Sheikh - Lou. Date of travel: Jun 2008

Sharm El-Sheikh is a nice area and is a lovely place there are loads of different parts such as Naama Bay, Sharks Bay and old Sharm. All of these are amazing and lovely to look at.

Sharm el-Sheikh - Mia Davies. Date of travel: Jun 2008Sharm el-Sheikh is brilliant! If you go to the beach I would consider putting lots of suncream on as it gets up to 50 degrees centigrade! When I went to the beaches I loved snorklling. When the sea was only to my knees there were fish about half a meter long! The best places to eat are in Naama Bay and there it has lots of shops and traditional restaurants such as T.G.I Fridays, Starbucks and for the kids there is KFC, Burger King and MacDonald's.

Sharm was a tourist spot - Henry. Date of travel: Feb 2008Hsarm el-Sheikh is not bad if that is what you are looking for. Plenty of shops and restaurants. Check carefully the location of your accommodations and try to be on the bay near the bazar / strip.

Better than the hotel but then what isn't! - Ash. Date of travel: Dec 2007Naama Bay wasn't bad but the Egyptians harrassed you to no end, the best places to go is probably Hard Rock Cafe for all ages and Pacha the nightclub if you're young, oh and if you like having money in your bank account stay away from the ATMs because my friend went to draw 180 pounds and the only thing that came out the cash despenser was a moth, LOL. But the money still transacted out of her account.

I hated Sharm el-Sheik - Kate Brown. Date of travel: Dec 2007We spent most of our nights in TGIFridays because we couldn't eat at the Star Hotel. The hassle in Sharm is unbelievable.

Sharm el-Sheikh rules - E Somers. Date of travel: Nov 2007Sharm el-Sheikh is a beautiful location, great diving and the most hospitable people in the world. Only one bad thing, the Russian tourists, I do not want to generalize or blow things up but the Russian tourists are the biggest bastards in the world! They are all uncivilized, disrespectful alcoholics, even their tour operators are too. They do not know the words 'please' or 'thank you' and they do not respect any basic house rules. My best tip: Go to Sharm before Ramadan, the Russians have their holidays after so you will not have to put up with them. I spoke about this to a Russian tour operator and he refused to here me or answer my questions. I told him I didn't want to put this in my report but he didn't seem to care so instead of trying to change this opinion he only reinforced it. I am so sorry for Russia.

Naama Bay - ideal for couples & families - not a big nightlife for clubbers - J Gay. Date of travel: Oct 2007Lots of relaxed bars & restaurants where you sit outside & just have a drink. Big selection of English/American type places such as TGI's, Hard Rock cafe, McDonalds, KFC, etc so you will always find something you recognise if you don't fancy trying something new. Nothing in the way of karaoke/music bars except for The Tavern, this is an English style pub which served food and played English music. Another place to go is the Camel Bar which is popular with divers as it's part of Camel Diving Club but was a fairly nice bar (more expensive than most places though) but if you want to find an English person that would be the place. Taxis are everywhere but get a price first before you get in the car - refuse the first price & offer about half of what they want - they will usually accept.
Don't go to the Il Mercato shopping centre (advertised as "1KM of shopping" as it's only about 1/3 built and sells genuine stuff such as Puma, Timberland, etc). It's the same price as at home!
Old Sharm/Old Market is really dirty and horrible but if you really want to get some souvenirs that is the place to get it cheaper than Naama Bay - same stuff as well. Lots of police everywhere - didn't really work out what they were doing but there was a large presence all the time especially during the evening, but we didn't find them intimidating (even though they all carry guns and look about 15).

Loved it - Dave Nelson. Date of travel: Sep 2007Sharm el-Sheikh was getting better by the day, found a bar called Tavern. All sports you can think of, big screens and every match live. English food with pub grub style.
Was only here for 7 days but met Rob (who is the manager) karaoke (Jason). See you guys soon and thanks to the staff as well.

Facinating country, great beaches - Michelle Goodall. Date of travel: Mar 2007Facinating country, great beaches and weather. Sharm el sheikh, walled city typically egyptian dark narrow cobbled streets a bit dingy, the local butchers is a sight not to be missed the meat is still alive and running around. loads of italian restaurants outside the walls. Naama bay more cosmopolitan and modern, lots of restaurants.. fish, steak, indian, chinese, thai, italian, pizza hut, hard rock cafe and mcdonalds all currencies accepted they particually like us dollar and stirling. Love the place, weather, people and beaches. Good value for money really cheap. Tour Operator: Libra

Trips from Sharm - Michael. Date of travel: Mar 2007Petra, in Jordan: Really fascinating but not that there is lots of walking, so not for the elderly. I suggest you get a flight there as we went by ferry and it took 5 hours there and back including the bus rides.
Luxor: Note that it is really hot in Luxor so take a big hat and lots of sun cream! We went in March and it was 45'c !! Worth the trip though. The trip included a tour of the Valley of the Kings and a boat journey down the Nile.
Quad Biking: Brilliant fun but not for the faint hearted! It is very sandy in the desert so take a scalf, otherwise they sell you an arab headress for £3.
Alimera Boat Trip: Although very expensive this was the best trip, really chilled and with free food and drink all day. Again take sun cream as you get easily burnt on the boat.
Note that you can pay for most trips in UK pounds, and it is usually cheaper as they link the foreign currency. We loved our holiday to Sharm el Sheikh and will book again.

Sharm el-Sheikh - Totally ruined and full of hassle - John. Date of travel: Mar 2007Construction sites and noise from them everywhere in Sharm el-Sheikh. Very poor food in general at hotels and out and about. Lots of fighting drunken Russian men who are abusive to Egyptians and other Tourists. Has to be the most extremely spoilt resort on the Red Sea. The only interesting point were the men hunting Russian Women who were all lithe and attractive. Other than that cross it off your list.

I loved Egypt - Shelly, Gaz and Meg. Date of travel: Sep 2006Sharm el-Sheikh is a lovely resort, warm, over friendly, hassle, but a beautiful country.
Be warned: money talks!!!

Sharm is great - Jane Ainscough. Date of travel: Aug 2006This was my second holiday to Sharm el Sheik. We loved it so much last time (at a different hotel) so we decided to go back for 18 days. Our hotel was awful, but I still love Sharm el Sheik. Here are some tips:
Pachaa - The best nights are Fri and Sat, it is as busy as any UK nightclub then. Great music on the Ministry of Sound evenings. Barter for your ticket with the English people outside, don't buy from any Egyptians up the road. You buy tokens when you are in there to then go to the bar and get drinks, obviously I don't need to explain why.
Taxis - Ask them to slow down, they will after your 3rd or 4th attempt, try the 'there's no rush' method. We were paying around 50 Egyptian Pounds one way from Naama Bay, try your luck if they agree always tip a couple of pound.
Currency - There is a Thomas Cook in town for changing travellers cheques because this hotel does not accept them.
Henna Tatoos - Most people are fine but please be warned there are no guarentees that you won't be allergic to this. If this happens it will scar in the shape of the tatoo. It happened to a 10 year old lad whilst we were there. My suggestion would be to ask for a little tester first, they won't mind.
Diving - Don't dive with the Hotel Three Corners Palmyra diving school, go into Naama Bay, along the seafront there is a diving school called 'Red Sea Diving College'. Great bunch of people, great school, diving is awesome! Let Alex Arnold know that I said hi!
Bacon Sandwich - There is a bar called 'Tavern Bar', I didn't try one but it owned by an British person who decided that he should serve a bacon sandwich. If they are nice please can you do a review, I am intrigued.
Restaurants in Naama Bay - So you have decided that you would like a nice meal away from the hotel, you walk into Namma Bay and there are so many that you can choose from, you would be mistaken if you thought that they all were up to the same standard. On that I can recommend is Ali Baba 2! Don't forget the 2. It's on the main drag towards the Hard Rock Cafe (another good place). The food is lovely, staff polite, well mannered and good at their jobs, price is reasonable and the best thing is you can see your bread being made (it tastes great!).
McDonalds - DO NOT EAT HERE, I saw something in the toilet that I cannot put here for you to read for fear of making you throw up. This is the most unhygienic place I have ever been, again DO NOT EAT HERE, regardless of what the kids say. I have sent a letter to McDonalds International asking them to do something about this place.
Sharm is great you should really go.
PS. Make sure you buy a snorkel and go to sharks bay - loads of fish!

I loved Sharm el-Sheikh - Hannieh and family. Date of travel: May 2006The shopping is great as it's so near the hotel. There is fast food pick ups along the way with shops offering souvenirs, clothes, gadgets and jewellery. Sharm is the recommended tourist area as it has so many attractions such as water Wolrd, water park, camel riding in the desert, flights to Cairo, the main city,to see awe-inspiring pyramids and museums, and Beduin tent experiences. I'd recommend Sharm to anyone!

Colin Storrie. Date of travel: Jan 2006Sharm el sheik is an amazing place to holiday, but beware of which hotel you go to. Tour Operator: Med hotels

Charmed by Sharm el Sheikh - Jan. Date of travel: Sep 2005There must be something in the air as it was my third visit! A little disappointed this time with the tour operator: let me down with the tour of a lifetime being on the day after I returned home but maybe another time? One thing is those Egyptian waiters are fascinated by us English women whatever our age. I was with my partner and it still didn't stop one trying on the charm in a touchy feely manner, quite a shock, in amongst Egyptian dignitaries at 'The Fantasia' show for what we thought only English speaking that evening? Take care in the heat and use insect repellent, drink plenty of bottled water. Tour Operator: Thomas Cook

Wendy Canning. Date of travel: May 2005Sharm el Sheikh is a nice resort, excellent snorkelling, if you can get past the beggars and everyone hassling you for money you will enjoy it. Tour Operator: Odyssey

Mike + Carol. Date of travel: May 2005Great for under water not a lot above water, but a great relaxing holiday if you like to swim snorkel or dive. Tour Operator: Odessey

Leanne Turvey. Date of travel: Mar 2005Whether its sunbathing, scuba diving,or shopping,Sharm El Sheikh's got it all. This cosmopolitan resort is known for its fine beaches and watersports. Snorkelling and scuba diving are particuarly popular,with many dive centre's in the resort. Entertainment during the day focuses on the beach and Naama Bay is the place for nightlife.You'll find a good selection of bars and resturants serving international cuisine.